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Today is the release of the border and sashing (the borders in between the blocks) instructions for the Jacquelynne Steves "I Love Home" Block-of-the-Month quilt along.

I laid out some of the border fabric with my blocks so I could get a sense of what my quilt will look like. I don't have every detail of the borders, but I can still see the overall effect. I think the quilt definitely shows off the pretty blue floral fabric that was the starting point for my fabric picking.

Check out my quilt so far below.

Obviously, I need to finish up Block 4 before I get started on borders. So in tonight's Facebook Live I'll be working on Block 4 instead of jumping into the borders and sashing. I'll get to those later this week.

The center square of Block 4 all by its lonesome.

Block 4 took a bit longer because I did more needle turn appliqué than the other blocks. But I'm getting SO MUCH BETTER at it. I'm thrilled! I was able to fully relax into the zen mode of needle turn this time.

Mission accomplished.

Besides getting better at needle turn appliqué, my other goals for this project were to try out the style of needle turn appliqué and embroidery together, to use fabric entirely from my stash, and to push myself with color in a way I don't normally do.

So far I'm very happy with everything.

I hope you join me tonight while I start sewing the rest of Block 4.

You can join me LIVE to watch the whole process during my nightly Facebook LIVE show, and you can watch the replays on YouTube. Note: My Facebook LIVE show now starts at 8:30 pm Central Standard Time (UTC/GMT -6 hrs).

If you’re already signed up to the Block of the Month quilt-along, then the borders and sashing instructions should be on their way to your email.

Each evening I’m Live is another chance to enter. You can enter during my Facebook Live video, during the reply, or on YouTube.

The entry period starts in tonight’s Facebook Live (December 4) and will run through December 8th. I’ll randomly pick a winner on the 10th. I will message the winner next week and share who won during a Facebook Live.

2. You can either remember to be on the page at 8:30 pm Central Standard Time, or to be notified, after “Liking” the Penguin & Fish page on Facebook, click the “Following” tab and make sure Notifications are set to “On”. Then click "See first".

Want more chances to win?

Check out the lovely people below who are also “I Love Home” BOM quilt along bloggers. Each blogger has a chance to win.

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get occasional emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

For me, Block 4 looks like it's going to be the most advanced as far as the skills I wanted to improve on with this project, and the new skills I've learned.

The skill I'm trying to improve is needle turn appliqué. The flower petals and thin stem were a challenge on Block 3. But I improved as I stitched. Because of Block 3 I'm more confident about my ability to stitch the stems on Block 4. Now there are two thin stems instead of one, and they're curved. There are also two flowers with petals instead of one.

For new skills, Block 3 was the first time I've dealt with half-triangle-rectangles (HTRs). They're back (and just as pretty) in Block 4. I'm going to try and see if I can do them from memory without looking up how to do them again. But if I get stuck, I have no problem watching Jacquelynne's instruction video. Click this link to watch Jacquelynne's Half Rectangle Triangle video.

I'm excited to test myself!

I'll be jumping into Block 4 tonight, starting with transferring the design to fabric, picking appliqué fabrics, and starting the needle turn appliqué.

You can join me LIVE to watch the whole process during my nightly Facebook LIVE show, and you can watch the replays on YouTube. Note: My Facebook LIVE show now starts at 8:30 pm Central Standard Time (UTC/GMT -6 hrs).

Below is a photo of my blocks so far and where they're going to live in the quilt. At the start of this project, I was unsure of my fabric choices, but as we go I'm liking them more and more. I think the blues, teals, and greens are starting to look like different bodies of water. To me, the quilt looks tranquil and homey. I'm over the moon about it!

And check out this amazing new giveaway!
This month's giveaway prize is from Olfa - a folding cutting mat, rotary cutter, and package of Endurance blades. These are all just like the ones I've been using in my Facebook LIVES.

Each evening I’m Live is another chance to enter. You can enter every evening during my Facebook Live video, during the reply, or on YouTube.

The entry period starts in tonight’s Facebook Live (Nov 6) and will run through November 10th. I’ll randomly pick a winner on the 12th. I will message the winner and share who won during a Facebook Live.

2. You can either remember to be on the page at 8:30 pm Central Standard Time, or to be notified, after “Liking” the Penguin & Fish page on Facebook, click the “Following” tab and make sure Notifications are set to “On”. Then click "See first".

Want more chances to win?

Check out the lovely people below who are also “I Love Home” BOM quilt along bloggers. Each blogger has a chance to win.

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get occasional emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

2. You can either remember to be on the page at 9:30 pm Central time, or to be notified, after “Liking” the Penguin & Fish page on Facebook, click the “Following” tab and make sure Notifications are set to “On”. Then click "See first".

Want more chances to win?

Check out the lovely people below who are also “I Love Home” BOM quilt along bloggers. Each blogger has a chance to win.

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get occasional emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

I got this book a couple weeks ago and instantly connected to it when I saw the jean quilt on the cover. I knew the book had to go in my top 5.

I’ve been making a jean quilt on and off over a period of (very literally) a decade. It thrilled me to see Blair’s jean quilt. It uses a traditional quilt block design to turn several shades of jeans into a clean, modern, warm and inviting quilt. I’m telling you, my heart expands when I look at it.

Actually, that’s how I felt with just about every project in the book. Blair shares her expertise in using well-loved and found fabrics such as vintage handkerchiefs, men’s button up tops, and even a wedding dress, and turns them into amazing quilts.

None of the quilts feel kitschy or overdone, something I commonly see in projects using reclaimed fabrics. They are all beautiful in their simplicity and I want to make every single one.

The biggest takeaway for me was to give yourself permission to cut into that special fabric.

I’ve been known to keep all my pretty fabric folded on the shelf to pull out every once in awhile and marvel at its prettiness but never hurt it by actually using it. Well, I’m getting over that. The more I use my special fabrics, the more I want to use them up. They’re far prettier in a finished project than sitting on my shelf.

The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living CourageouslyBy Sherri Lynn Wood

For me, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood helped me put fear aside and step into a world that before I only wished I could enter.

The world of free form, no pattern involved quilt making where every quilt ends up looking like an abstract art piece.

Before reading this book I thought there was no way I could ever make something so beautiful and seemingly impossible to make. How would I know what size to cut things? How would I get seams to match together? How would I even make a decision on what to do next?

I felt like there was no way to break away from a planned out pattern and make something so improvisational.

But Sherri Lynn Wood illustrates the process in an informative and encouraging way. And after using her methods, I feel like there’s a creative part of me that’s finally getting the chance to open up.

You don’t need any special design skills, just a few methods and parameters you set for yourself, and the world of Improv piecing becomes understandable.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It breaks down the creative decision-making process in a way that will help in any project. So even if you don’t plan on making an improvisational quilt, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters will still be a valuable addition to your sewing library.

Abby is a PRO at designing and sewing super cute stuffed animals. In Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction she shares her technical knowledge in a digestible way so that you can design and sew your own stuffed animal patterns. Even complex designs.

If you want to learn how to make professional looking stuffed animals, you won’t find a better book than this.

Abby starts with how to design your own stuffed animal, then, through her projects, takes you through making a simple stuffed animal with two sides, all the way through how to make more complicated designs with gussets, darts, rounded shapes, asymmetrical design, and fully jointed parts. The “Lesson” inserts throughout the book are gold.

Even if you don’t make stuffed animals, you’ll get a great education on how to manipulate fabric into 3-dimensional shapes.

You’ll use Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction as a go to reference for years.

I’ve had this book for years and years and it never fails to inspire me.

There are no projects in this book. It is purely a technical guide on how to manipulate the flat surface of fabric to give it dimensionality using a wide variety of traditional techniques. Techniques include gathering, shirring, ruffles, godets, pleating, smocking, quilting, stuffing, and more, all in great detail and with lots of diagrams and photos.

One of my favorite things I like about this book is that it shows what the most traditional way of a doing a technique looks like, all the way through what a technique would look like when done in a way that’s more free form or unconventional.

All the techniques are shown in plain white cotton and photographed in black and white. I think that design choice focuses the book on the textures you can create, and lets you think of your own projects that you could use them in.

There are textures in this book that you’ve never seen before being created with fabric. Any of them would be stunning in a quilt.

Now that I’m crafting a whole lot more (because of my nightly Facebook Lives), I’d like to start experimenting with more dimensional techniques and include them in upcoming projects.

I found out about this book several years ago at the International Quilt Market trade show. I met Yukari there and we traded books (my book, Sew & Stitch Embroidery, had just come out).

The quilts in this book are so beautiful that I get kind of emotional every time I page through.

Yukari’s quilts consist of large scenes of people, buildings, toys, plants, and animals made through a combination of patchwork, needle turn appliqué, and embroidery.

The sheer amount of handwork is astounding.

Story Quilts: Through the Seasons is eye candy for sure, but there are also great lessons on needle turn appliqué and different ways you can combine it with embroidery. I love the page where it shows the same little girl design made several times in different combinations of needle turn appliqué and embroidery, and in a variety of materials.

Although I love my Japanese version, I’m sure it’s even more informative in English!

For a kick of beauty and inspiration, I pull this book off my shelf more than any other sewing book in my library.

Colorfast “Turkey red” dye became available in the mid-nineteenth century, and in turn made red and white quilts popular. And it’s easy to understand why. The contrast between the plain white and the vivid red is stunning.

And to see 651 red and white quilts all in one place takes your breath away. I wish I went to the show when the quilts were displayed, but I’ll settle for paging through the book.

The book showcases each quilt from the show on its own page, grouped by technique or style. I love that you can see all the log cabin style quilts together and all the embroidered quilts together.

Not only does this book make you want to sew a red and white quilt immediately, you feel a connection with the women and men, some from hundreds of years ago, who were makers just like you.

There you have it. My top 5 (6) favorite sewing books for your quilting library.

Share YOUR favorite sewing book in the comments below. I can't wait to check them out!

I’d love a really good one on basic clothing pattern drafting from measurements only. For some reason that’s been itching at my creativity trigger lately. Not directly quilting related, but I feel like everything I learn in other sewing categories helps me with my quilts.

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If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get occasional emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like it’s a mystery how fabric and color combinations will relate to each other and in the larger quilt. You can do all the planning in the world, but the result is still ultimately a surprise.

A great surprise because it represents you.

It’s like a fingerprint. No one is ever going to put fabrics and colors together quite like you. And that makes your quilt uniquely special.

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If you haven’t joined in on the free "I Love Home" quilt along, have no fear! There’s tons of time to work on it. There are four blocks total.

TODAY is the release of Block 2!

Woo hoo!

If you’re already signed up, Block 2 should be on its way to your email.

Each evening I’m Live is another chance to enter. You can enter every evening during my Facebook Live video, during the reply, or on YouTube.

The entry period starts in tonight’s Facebook Live (Sept 4) and will run through September 10th. I’ll randomly pick a winner on the 11th, and the winner will be announced on Thursday the 14th on Facebook Live.

2. You can either remember to be on the page at 9:30 pm Central time, or to be notified, after “Liking” the Penguin & Fish page on Facebook, click the “Following” tab and make sure Notifications are set to “On”. Then click "See first".

Want more chances to win?

Check out the lovely people below who are also “I Love Home” BOM quilt along bloggers. Each blogger has a chance to win.

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get occasional emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

For the “I Love Home” BOM, we’ll be stitching the cutest embroidered / appliquéd house blocks into the sweetest quilt. There are 4 blocks total that will be sent to your email every month. If you’re signed up, you should have received your first block in your email today.

I’ll be filming the whole process from beginning to end on Facebook Live.That means everything from cutting my fabric, to each embroidery and appliqué stitch, to sandwiching my quilt, and binding.

The awesome thing about working on a project Live is that we all get to help each other out while we work. If you have any questions, I’ll be able to answer them on the spot. And if I don’t know what to do, I bet one of the lovely people in the chat, just like you, will be able to help. There are some new-to-me techniques in this project (like half-rectangle triangles) and I may need a little hand holding. I’ll be there to hold yours as well.

2. You can either remember to be on the page at 9:30 pm Central time, or to be notified, after “Liking” the Penguin & Fish page on Facebook, click the “Following” tab and make sure Notifications are set to “On”. Then click "See first".

Want more chances to win (and see some awesome work by other designers)?

Check out the lovely people below who are also “I Love Home” BOM quilt along bloggers. Each blogger has a box of Aurifil to give away.

I hope you join me over on the Penguin & Fish page for my Facebook Live tonight at 9:30 pm Central time. I’ll be cutting the fabric for ALL of the blocks. Cutting is always the scariest thing for me when quilting, so I could use your hand holding tonight. Eeep.

Cheers!

-Alyssa

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If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get occasional emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

If you haven’t yet joined the 21,000+ people working on a Splendid Sampler quilt of their own, here’s a little background on the project.

Started by quilting stars, Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson, The Splendid Sampler is a 100 block mystery quilt along running from Feb 2016 - Feb 2017. Each week, on Thursdays and Sundays, a new mystery 6 ½ inch quilt block is released as a digital pattern.

Each block pattern is written by a different designer and uses a technique they’re known for. I’ve been fortunate enough to be the designer for block 11.

So far we’ve seen everything from traditional piecing to embroidery. And also raw edge appliqué, needle turn appliqué, foundation paper piecing, English paper piecing, and combinations of all these techniques.

That means every pattern with a bunch of bonus patterns, all beautifully crafted by some of your favorite designers, is all at your fingertips. Not to mention an incredibly helpful, kind, and inspiring Facebook group of over 21,000 quilters. Some quilting for 50+ years and others making their first ever quilt. All the patterns are free for the duration of the project and then they will be taken offline and turned into a book.

I love that there may be 21,000+ Splendid Sampler quilts being made right now. Pretty amazing, huh!

Tomorrow marks the halfway point of The Splendid Sampler.

Wow!

Block 50!

I’m making myself a Splendid Sampler quilt and I’m so proud I made it this far. My craftiness temperament doesn’t usually want me to take on large projects (it likes small “quick win” projects), so it was a big leap for me to choose to do The Splendid Sampler.

I’m so happy I did! I realized that breaking the quilt down into blocks, turned the project into a whole series of “quick wins”.

My mom decided to do the Splendid Sampler too, and it’s been so great to have the shared experience of working on the blocks with her.

I decided to keep myself accountable by broadcasting Live the process of making every block in the streaming app, Periscope. Every night at 9:30pm central time I broadcast Live and work on the most current Splendid Sampler block. Viewers can comment and ask questions in real time.

At minimum I thought the Live broadcasting would keep me on track by giving me a dedicated time to sew, and I’d be able to help people with the embroidery on the block I designed, block 11.

What I found through Live broadcasting on Periscope was community of new friends, all helping each other to become better quilters. And a group of wonderful people to hang out with every night.

It’s because of my Periscope community, that I’ve gone from a “faking it” quilter that knew just enough to get by, to a confident quilter that could stand up tall in any room of experienced quilters.

One of the biggest rewards for me has been the comments and emails from quilters who’ve watched the Live broadcasts or the replays on YouTube, who’ve said that the videos have helped them make their blocks.

And it’s especially exciting when they decided to try a technique they thought they’d never tackle because they could watch me do it, and it didn’t seem so hard anymore.

That makes me so happy!

The more people trying new things and gaining confidence through crafting the better! Yay us!

To celebrate the 50 block halfway point of The Splendid Sampler quilt along, I’ll be having a special Periscope at my parent’s house. I’ll be laying out all of my blocks like a quilt. The last time I did that was when I finished block 25. The quilt has doubled in size since then!

And even better, my mom is going to lay out all of her quilt blocks as well. You’ll get to see both of our quilts side by side. It’s amazing how different fabrics can totally change the look of a quilt.

After “show and tell” I’ll be starting block 50 Live on Periscope.

I’d love for you to join me in tomorrow’s (Thursday August 4th) 9:30pm Central Live Periscope broadcast “show and tell” to celebrate block 50.

To watch and chat LIVE:

1. Download the Periscope app to your device (IPad users may have to look in the Iphone only apps)
2. Sign in using your Twitter account.
3. Click the Person icon, then click the magnifying glass
4. Search for penguinandfish, and when you see me, Alyssa Thomas, click the plus sign or follow button
You'll be notified when I go live. Click the notification or the title of my "scope" in Periscope to join.

You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to join me on Periscope either. I’m there every night! So pop on in tonight while I finish up block 49. I’ll be stitching at my parent’s house and sewing it on my mom’s machine.

The best part of stitching at my parent’s house is that you’ll get to hear the frogs outside!

If you’re nervous about starting such a big project, start off by stitching my Splendid Sampler freebie bonus project. My BEE BRAVE quilting bee. It will help you muster up the confidence to “BEE BRAVE”!

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get weekly emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE hand embroidery pattern.

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Hi all. I'm Alyssa Thomas the owner and designer at Penguin & Fish. I believe there's nothing more joyous then making something special with your own hands and sharing it with a loved one. Join me and let's craft some happiness! Read more...

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